by K. D. Jones
“What do you want from me?” Maxim demanded. He could see Soren in his peripheral vision, trying to move closer to Alona.
“First, I am going to use you to fix Soren. The multiple alien DNAs mixed into him are breaking down his system. You’ll help me repair him.”
“How?”
“Simple really, a blood transfusion. I will drain Soren and replace his bad blood with yours. Then I will inject a blocker to prevent the alien DNA from rejecting the blood. Soren’s systems will be reset, so to speak.”
“Is that a permanent cure?” Maxim asked. He noticed Soren stop moving towards Alona and turn his full attention onto Dr. Forbes. Maxim was just trying to keep the man talking while he cataloged the layout of the lab. There were two doors, the one he had came through and the other he suspected would lead to a back way out of the building.
“Unfortunately, Soren will need recurring transfusions.”
“What? You didn’t say that before.” Soren stepped towards Forbes. They began arguing with one another and soon Dr. Deans joined them. Maxim used their distraction to back up against the bars of Alona’s cage.
He whispered to her. “How strong are these bars?”
“I’ve been working on loosening the bars from the bottom and it’s almost done. A few more pushes and shoves, and it will come right off.”
“I’ve got it. You watch the bottom and let me know when it is free. I’ll keep my eyes on these guys. When the time comes, can you lift the bars off?”
“Yeah, I can lift it up and get out.”
“Good. When I give you the sign, run to the door to your right and leave here as fast as you can. Don’t stop for anything or anyone. When you’re at a safe distance, contact Rachel. She’s trying to track us but there’s a lot of interference.”
“I’m not leaving you, Maxim.” Alona shook her head.
“Please, I need you to do this. We don’t have time to argue about it. One of us has to get free of this lab so Rachel can track us. Let me loosen the bars before they notice something.” Maxim put his heels on the bottom part of the cage. He reached back with his hands and began pulling up on bars. It didn’t take much with his strength. He slowly rotated the cage to the right, pulling up another section, then did it two more times.
“You’ve got the bars completely free of the bottom of the cage,” Alona whispered. Just in time, too, because the three arguing men turned their attention back to Maxim.
“What are you doing? Move away from the cage,” Soren commanded.
“Easy, Soren, they’re not going anywhere,” Forbes told him.
Maxim slowly moved to the right, away from Alona. “Let Alona go, and I’ll willingly stay and do the blood transfusions.”
Deans snorted. “We can’t let the woman go yet, eighty-nine wants to spend some time with her.”
“She was promised to me,” Soren growled at Deans.
“You would let him take her against her will?” Maxim was furious as he glared at Forbes.
Forbes sighed. “The second reason for keeping you is that I have often wondered if any of my droid technology will pass on to an infant, since it is biologically based. I had planned on getting a human woman to do tests on, but now that we have a halfsie I think it might be more viable option. Soren wants her and he has proven most cooperative about it. But with you here, since you have no defects and I made great efforts to save your reproductive organs, I think you will be able to produce the results I am looking for.”
Soren howled incoherently in betrayal. Forbes snapped at him to shut up. Soren didn’t look happy about it.
Alona felt sick at the thought of her and Maxim’s child in the hands of this madman. No way would she let that happen. And no way would she allow Soren to touch her. She would rather die first.
Chapter 18
Maxim moved to the left, away from the cage and towards the far door. He wanted the men watching his every move so that they wouldn’t notice when Alona made her escape. He needed to give her enough time. He only hoped that once Alona was free from the building Rachel would be able to track her.
“Let Alona leave here and I will stay and do all the treatments you need. I will . . . give my semen samples to you to use however you want.”
Forbes shook his head. “I don’t want frozen samples from you. If you don’t want to use the Arian halfsie, she won’t be of any use to me. I’ll dispose of her and then find another more suitable female for you to breed with.”
“Hell no!” Alona objected.
Maxim looked at her briefly. She looked really upset over the idea that Dr. Forbes would breed him with another female. She should know that she was the only woman for him. He would have to reassure her later. He needed to get Forbes’ attention back on him now. He gave her a look and hoped she understood that he wanted her to remain quiet.
“I won’t willingly give you anything as long as you are holding Alona hostage.” Maxim walked further towards the door on the left. Soren, Deans, and Forbes moved in his direction.
“Get the door, Deans!” Forbes yelled.
Maxim smirked, knowing that they thought he was going to make a run for it, exactly as he had hoped. He reached the door first, catching Deans with an arm bar across his neck. The chubby man went down to the floor hard, completely knocked out. One down, two more to go. Maxim went through the door, trying to draw the others back towards the viewing room.
“You’re not getting away, Maxim!” Soren called as he chased him down the hallway.
Maxim grabbed the first thing he could find, a metal trashcan. He hurled it at one of the glass cases, smashing it. He jumped out of the way as gooey suspension fluid and pieces of alien body flooded out across the floor.
Soren wasn’t expecting to run the slippery mess and he slid across the floor, stumbling and falling down. Maxim didn’t wait for him to recover but launched himself at the other man while he was still down. He kneed him in the chest and began pounding him in the head. Hard right, hard left, and a sharp uppercut.
Soren wasn’t going to give up easily, though. He managed to get a bent leg in between him and Maxim and shoved hard, using his droid strength. Maxim flew halfway across the floor before he could stop himself. He landed in a crouched position. He growled at Soren, who was now standing and glaring at him from across the room. They ran at each other and crashed together into a hard clinch, arms against arms. When one pushed, the other shoved back.
Soren slammed Maxim hard against another glass case, which shattered and poured its contents over both of them. He could feel some of the glass cut into his back. He pushed aside the pain.
He grunted as he took a hard hit to his side. Damn, the man was as strong as a Beastial. Next Soren grabbed Maxim’s head and pulled him down for a knee to the face. Maxim heard his nose break, but he was finally able to maneuver out of Soren’s grasp.
Maxim took stock. Soren was a little stronger due to the different alien DNA mixed in him, but Maxim was the more experienced fighter. He had also learned over the years how to control his anger and power. Soren allowed his emotions free rein, striking out in rage, holding nothing back. Powerful, but he was also tiring himself out. Maxim could tell that the other man was overriding the system checks warning him to pull back and recharge. Maxim was counting on that.
*****
Alona watched in fear as Maxim left the lab with Soren in pursuit. This was it. She should make her escape and go for help. She gripped the bars of the cage and started to lift it off.
“Deans! You are useless! I have to do everything myself.” Dr. Forbes tried in vain to wake Deans, but he was completely knocked out. He then walked over to his workstation and opened a drawer. “This will be strong enough to knock Maxim out without killing him. Damn, I hate having to do it this way. I won’t be able to do the transfusion until the drugs wear off.”
Alona watched as Forbes prepared to shoot Maxim with some kind of tranquilizing gun. She couldn’t let that happen. When he started heading back towar
ds the doorway, she lifted the cage and threw it at him. She managed to catch his legs.
Forbes went down, dropping the tranquilizer gun and making it slide across the floor a few feet away. Forbes shoved the cage off him and tried to crawl towards the tranquilizer. Alona had to make a decision. Leave and call for help, or stay and help Maxim herself? No way would she leave her man to fight on his own. Alona ran towards Forbes and kicked him further away from the tranquilizer.
“You little bitch!” Forbes yelled as he clambered to his feet. Then he launched himself at Alona. “You’re going to pay for your interference!”
Alona easily sidestepped out of the man’s way. He wheeled around and came at her again. This time Alona didn’t move. She stayed still until he was about a foot from her, then bent down, neatly using his own momentum to throw him over her shoulder. She caught his arm before he could fall to the floor, lifted him up, and threw him across the room.
“How?” Forbes asked, shaking his head, clearly not quite understanding what was going on.
“Arians may be the weaker of the alien species you studied, but even an Arian halfsie is still twice as strong as a human male. Especially one as puny as you.” Alona tried to kick him in the face but he surprised her by catching her foot and yanking her off balance. She went down.
Forbes scrambled on top of her and punched her face. Alona locked her legs around him and rolled them over, reversing their positions. She returned the punches that he had given her with interest, shattering his glasses.
“Damn you!” Forbes yelled as he tried to shove her off.
Alona lost her hold on him and fell backwards when he pushed hard. Desperate, Forbes scrambled to get to his feet. He looked around for something to use as a weapon. Alona was doing the same. Forbes found his weapon first.
Forbes grabbed a chair and came running towards Alona. She waited to the last minute then jumped, using her Arian abilities to hover in the air. Forbes lost his footing and fell. He tried to get back up but Alona came down with one foot out and connected with Forbes’s chin. It knocked him back to the floor. She reached for the tranquilizer gun and turned just as Forbes threw the chair at her.
She barely had a chance to duck as the chair came past her head. She stood up and chased after Forbes as he tried to escape out the right door. Alona wasn’t letting this asshole get away, not this time. Forbes was going to pay for what he had done to Maxim.
*****
Maxim was bleeding and his vision was clouded by the sweat running down his face. Soren was a tough opponent. He should have taken a position with the GCFA.
“Come on, Soren, you don’t have to stay with Forbes. You don’t owe him anything.” Maxim and Soren were circling each other, both taking in deep gulps of breath.
“I wasn’t planning on staying with Forbes. I just wanted him to fix my little issues and then I was going to leave. But you are wrong about one thing. I do owe Forbes. I owe him a slow, painful death. After all the shit he put me through, the testing, the tearing of nerves while I was still conscious but unable to move, he deserves an eye for an eye.”
“We are in agreement on that. So why are we fighting each other? We should be fighting Forbes.”
Soren snorted as he wiped the blood from the gash on the side of his face. “Oh, does my brother want to bond? Sorry, but there are two reasons that won’t ever happen. One . . .” He threw a punch that connected with Maxim’s ribs. “. . . I need you to fix me. I plan to drain every drop of blood in your body and store it up for transfusions.” Soren dodge the kick that Maxim aimed at him and almost lost his footing on the slimy floor. “Second, we both want the same female. I won’t share her with you.”
Maxim growled at him. “Alona is my woman, and I will not give her up. I would sooner die than to see her in your hands.”
“That’s the plan, Maxim. I’m going to kill you, then take Alona and make her mine.” Soren jabbed right, then left.
Maxim blocked him and managed to sneak in his own jabs here and there. He finally got Soren in a chokehold. Soren tried to get out of it by punching at Maxim. Then a woman’s scream distracted Maxim.
“Alona!” He yelled, turning to look in the direction of the lab. He unintentionally loosened his tight hold on Soren.
Soren took advantage of it and twisted his way free. He gave a back kick to Maxim’s left knee, making Maxim collapse. There was a crunching sound.
Maxim found himself on the wet, slimy ground, hands out in front to hold himself up. His knee joint had taken some heavy damage; it was going to be hard for him to stand back up. He had to end this soon so that he could get to Alona.
He worried about what was happening to her. Had she gotten free? Why had she screamed? Had Forbes hurt her? He would kill the man if he hurt her.
He reached down into the gooey water and grabbed a sliver of glass. He looked up just as Soren was getting his breath back. The other man ran at him full force.
It was like everything was happening in slow motion. Maxim raised his hand holding the sliver of glass and Soren impaled himself. By the time Soren realized that what had happened, it was too late. He pulled away from Maxim with the glass protruding from his solar plexus.
As Maxim slowly hauled himself to his feet, Soren dropped to his knees. Blood was gushing from his wound and some from his mouth. His circuits started shutting down. He gave Maxim one last, disbelieving look before he fell forward onto the ground.
Alona. He had to get to Alona. Maxim turned and headed back down the hallway limping. Many different scenarios played in his head of what he might find. Alona could be hurt or worse, dad.
He barged through the door. “Alona!” What he saw shocked him. Alona was shoving a still unconscious Deans into a cage already occupied by Forbes. She locked the door and turned around.
“Maxim!” She ran to him and threw herself into his arms.
He stumbled a bit to keep his balance, but he was not about to let her go. Not now, not ever.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He pushed her back a little so that he could look her over.
“No, but you are. Your knee?” She helped him as he slid down to the floor.
“Yeah, I’m going to need the healers on this one I think.” He winced as he straightened his legs out in front of him. He was feeling really, really tired. His system warned him it wanted to shut down to save energy. “You need to go for help, Alona.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving you.”
“You don’t understand. I’m barely hanging on to consciousness. My circuits . . . shutting down . . . soon.”
“Hold on.” Alona stood up and ran across the room to the charger that Soren had been using. She plugged it up and helped Maxim attach it. She stood up again and walked over to where Forbes had been working on his computer.
“I found a cell phone! I’m going to call Rachel.” She turned back to look at Maxim but he was already passed out. She needed to get help as soon as possible. She dialed Rachel’s number quickly.
“Rachel here. Who is this?”
“Rachel, it’s Alona. We need healers for Maxim now.”
“I’ll let them know. Stay on the line so we can track the call. Stay put until we arrive.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 19
“That’s just not fair.” Alona smiled at her friend Maya as another bouquet of flowers was delivered. The GCFA was going all out sending get-well gifts for her and Maxim’s recovery. Maxim, of course, was recovering much faster than she was. He was currently down in the gym doing physical therapy for his knee. He was one step closer to getting back on the roster.
“Taurus doesn’t send you flowers?” Alona asked. She found that hard to believe. Taurus seemed to be a very affectionate towards Maya.
“Yes, on special occasions. But nothing like this.” Maya pointed to the flower arrangements covering almost every table and shelf in Alona’s suite.
“It is a bit much. I’m going to need a
bigger suite if I get any more,” Alona laughed.
“Did that Forbes guy and his crony get indicted today?”
“Yeah, it’s part of the reason we’ve been keeping a low profile. Plus we’ve had to go in to give our testimony. It was a closed court, so only the judge and the lawyers were there. Forbes tried to argue he was working on scientific advancements that could change the world.” Alona shook her head in disgust.
“How long did he get?”
“Life plus twenty years for each death that he caused. Since the IDJ counted twenty dead bodies in those glass cases, he won’t be getting out any time soon.”
She groaned when the doorbell rang again. “Seriously?” She went to answer the door. Nigel was standing there holding another vase of flowers. “Hello, Nigel.” She moved out of the way so he could come inside.
“Hi, Alona. Sorry I meant to get here sooner to check on you personally but I got sidetracked with some business . . .” He stopped a few feet inside the suite and looked around with a mixed expression of humor and shock.
“Yeah, I need to talk to you about all of this. I appreciate everything that the GCFA is doing for us. But it’s just too much.”
“I agree. It was . . . an oversight. I’ll talk to my assistant about this. But until then, here’s one more to add to your collection.” He handed her the bouquet just as the door opened and Maxim walked in.
Maxim saw the exchange and took in all the flowers in the suite. He turned to Nigel and growled, “What are you doing here?”
Maya laughed as she headed for the door. “I think it’s time to pick up the kids from school. Talk to you tomorrow, Alona.”
“Traitor!” Alona called after her, making Maya laugh even harder as she shut the door behind her.
Alona sighed as she walked over to stand between Maxim and Nigel. “Easy, baby, Nigel just came by to check on us to make sure we’re doing okay. Oh and look, he brought you some flowers.” Alona handed the bouquet to Maxim who automatically grabbed it from her. Both men blinked at the comment.
